Round Rock Opens New Pickleball Courts, Expands Old Settlers Park Recreation

Nine new pickleball courts at Old Settlers Park changed the access math for Austin-area players looking for steady court time without paying for a private club. Round Rock paired the pickleball buildout with 17 tennis courts at the Adult Recreation Complex, and two of those tennis courts can convert to add four more pickleball courts when tournament play needs extra space.

The courts opened in April 2026 after construction began in late 2024, and the project came out of Round Rock’s voter-approved 2023 general obligation bond program. That bond package totaled $274 million, with $230 million set aside for parks, recreation and sports and $44 million for public safety. For pickleball players, that matters because the new complex was not a one-off amenity. It was delivered as part of a long-range public buildout at Old Settlers Park, Round Rock’s largest park, which already spans several hundred acres and supports disc golf, cricket, baseball, softball and soccer.

The city framed the courts as dedicated space for friendly matches, fitness-focused play and social recreation, and the setup suggests real crowd relief for a park that already serves a broad sports base. With 9 permanent pickleball courts and the ability to flex up for tournament play, Old Settlers Park now looks strong enough to handle a full weekend of play instead of just a quick stop between errands.

Round Rock tied that court opening to a bigger family draw. The city also cut the ribbon on the new Joanne Land Playground near Lakeview Pavilion and Stage at 3300 E. Palm Valley Blvd., while the courts opened at 3443 Aten Loop. The new playground is more than twice the size of the former version, which first opened in 2017 and had become one of the most heavily used playgrounds in the city. Round Rock said the replacement was needed after frequent repairs, and it funded the project with $1.87 million in 2023 GO bonds. The city also said its playgrounds are typically designed for about a 15-year lifecycle.

That wider park mix is what makes the opening feel bigger than a simple ribbon-cutting. Families can now stack a playground stop with court time, and Round Rock layered in Live at Lakeview to push the site further into destination territory, with live music, a DJ set, food trucks, vendors and a performance by Texas country artist Lucas John. Add in the city’s larger Old Settlers Park plan, which includes an amphitheater area, interior road upgrades, pedestrian crossing improvements, a recreation center, track and field facilities, multi-use flat fields and Rock’N River Waterpark expansion, and the pickleball complex starts to look like a realistic base for a pickleball-centered weekend.